2009 Yamaha Yzfr1 Supersport on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Monster Energy Track Day of Legends with Schumacher, McGuinness, Espargaro and Flint – Video

Last week, we wrote about retired Formula One racer Michael Schumacher taking part in a track day at France’s Paul Ricard circuit on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The event’s sponsor, Monster Energy, has released a video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the event. The seven-time F1 champion was joined by TT racer John McGuinness, retired MotoGP racer Randy Momola, Moto2 racer Pol Espargaro and Keith Flint, a musician from the group Prodigy and a racer in the U.K.’s  Hottrax Endurance Championship.

OEMs Plug into Electric Bikes

KTM introduced its prototype electric motorcycle earlier this week, and electric bike manufacturer Zero Motorcycles almost immediately responded by opening sales on its 2009 Zero X dirt bike (look for our review of the 2008 model next week!). But these two companies aren’t the only ones exploring the possibilities of electric-powered motorcycles. In September, Japan’s largest industrial information journal Nikkei Business Daily reported that both Honda and Yamaha have set target dates for launching their own electric-powered motorcycles.

Frog eBike – the Electric Successor to 1985 Frog FZ750 Concept

San Francisco-based Frog Design released images of a new electric motorcycle concept, just as its influential Yamaha FZ750-based Rana concept gets enshrined at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Frog designer Jin Soek Hwang prepared the Frog eBike concept as an expression of how electric motor technology can influence motorcycle design. In a post on Frog’s blog, the designer says he was inspired in part by Frog’s 1985 FZ750 Rana concept (pictured after the jump).